


Between Us

by ourdarkspirits



Category: The Librarians (TV 2014)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-04
Updated: 2015-02-04
Packaged: 2018-03-10 10:47:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,045
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3287453
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ourdarkspirits/pseuds/ourdarkspirits
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cassandra is offered a chance at life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Between Us

It wasn’t the first time Cassandra had worked with Jake and Ezekiel after Peru, but it was the first time working with Flynn and Eve after they had graduated to fully-fledged Librarians. Cassandra had worked a few cases on her own, but she liked it when she was able to work with the others. She considered them friends, and Jake’s and Ezekiel’s specialties always worked well with her own. Each of them was successful on their own but they were that much more successful together.

This case had required them to go to Norway. The Library’s clippings book had begun shaking: unexplainable natural disasters, and Flynn had decided this was a case that required all of the Librarians. A group of völva had, with the release of more magic into the world, begun to lose control of their magic. The ley lines were too unpredictable and the results were disastrous. Disaster struck when they attempted to practice their ancient rites, as power flowed stronger than they could prepare for. 

Cassandra’s ability with math, her ability to see it, and her increasing ability not to lose control thanks to Jake, with Flynn’s experience and Jake’s thorough knowledge of history had made getting the ley lines back under control surprisingly easy. What would have been almost impossible for any one of the Librarians proved to be business as usual for the four Librarians and Eve. 

Everyone was packing up and getting ready to head back to the door they had used to travel from the Annex. Jake was not so subtly making sure that Cassandra was doing all right. The symptoms from her tumor were getting worse; nosebleeds, hallucinations and fainting were all getting more frequent. Cassandra was doing her best to hide it, but Jake paid too much attention not to see and so it seemed did the völva.

The eldest völva approached them and, addressing Cassandra, said, “We know what ails you, and in gratitude for what all have you have done for us, we offer our healing services.”

“But, I had help,” Cassandra protested, astounded by this offer. She had been so sure she would never find a way to get her tumor removed and had resigned herself to her quickening approach to death. 

The völva smiled at her and said, “We have given this considerable thought, and think this gift to you would also be a gift to your friends.”

“Give me a moment.” The völva nodded and Cassandra turned back to the others.

Ezekiel was the first to speak. “What are you waiting for? Say yes.” 

“Of course you should do it,” Flynn and Baird said almost at once.

She turned to Jake, and still he didn’t say anything, he just gave her a measured look.

“Jake?” she asked quietly, wringing her hands. She wasn’t sure why it was so important to hear him say she should expect the offer, get the brain grape out of her head. Maybe it was because she felt selfish taking a gift they had all earned. Maybe she needed to know that he also would want her to take this offer. 

“Of course you should do it, Cassie,” Jake finally said, barely making eye contact with her.

Cassandra turned back to the völva. “I accept your offer.”

The völva held out her hand, gesturing for Cassandra to come with her. Cassandra jogged up to her to keep her from waiting and the two women disappeared back the way the völva had come.

~~~~

Jake hadn’t imagined Cassandra would ever get the chance to have her tumor removed. He had resigned himself to a too-close future where she was no longer there. Now as she walked away with the völva he avoided making eye contact with the others. He had too much to think about to want to explain why he had been so hesitant to encourage Cassie, so he busied himself packing the van that they had rented to get to the sight of the magical disturbances.

When he could no longer busy himself with packing, he walked off into the woods, feeling restless and unsettled.

She probably thought his hesitation had to do with her betraying them all to Lamia and Dulaque, but the truth was he had forgiven her for that a long time ago. He had finally admitted he didn’t know what he would have done had he been in her shoes. This was selfish. Some part of him was worried that she would be fundamentally different from the Cassie he liked so much. So, when everyone else had eagerly told her to accept the gift, he had floundered, his thoughts going too fast to figure out what he was feeling. For brief moment, he had thought maybe that was what it was like to be Cassandra, thoughts flying through her head so fast she could barely stay on one track for very long.

He wanted her to find a way to get the tumor removed. For a while now, maybe since Peru, it had been the thing he wanted most. With each mission some part of him hoped maybe they would find a way to help her, and this time they just happened to be helping a group of supernatural beings who were incredibly gifted healers, healers with the ability to remove the tumor from Cassie’s brain. He was reeling. After months of wanting, here it was suddenly offered up freely. 

So yeah, when she had needed to hear from him, he had been completely frozen, lost in a swirl of thoughts. He was still stewing about Cassandra when Baird came up beside him.

“You want to talk?” she asked, careful not to push too hard. He was grateful for it. Since she had begun working with the Library, she had gotten to know them pretty well, and had learned better approaches to working with her team.

“Nah, I’m good,” Jake said.

“OK. Do you want me to go?” Baird tried again.

“No. I should be getting back. Do we know how long it’s gonna take?” Jake asked turning back the way they had come. 

Baird walked with him, “They haven’t said. Flynn doesn’t think it should be too long.”

“Flynn?”

“He does lots of reading. He’s come across accounts of the healing ceremonies of the völva. You should ask him,” Baird encouraged him as the van came back into sight.

“Did you tell him it shouldn’t take too long?” Flynn asked Baird.

“I told him, but I think you have a better understanding of völva healing practices,” Baird responded with an air of exasperation. Baird left him to go do something in the van, probably just making herself busy.

Flynn stuck by him telling him about the healing rituals Cassandra was likely undergoing. There would be a ceremony, she would be unconscious, it wasn’t invasive, she likely wouldn’t feel any different. He let Flynn keep talking to him, but he stopped hearing when Flynn’s descriptions got more technical. Jake gave him the occasional nod. Flynn probably needed to talk for himself. He too had come to care for Cassie. 

Jake’s demeanor didn’t change much until, after what seemed like hours, Cassandra returned from the völva village. If there was any difference, it was maybe that she seemed lighter, as if she was no longer burdened by the ever-present promise of the tumor. 

Once again, Ezekiel was the one who spoke first, “Did it work?”

Cassandra nodded, her hands clasped in front of her just like before, and that smile slowly spreading across her face. Once again Jake felt frozen as the other three rushed forward to congratulate Cassandra. He wanted to hug her, tell her he was thrilled she no longer had a tumor in her frontal lobe, but he didn’t seem able to move. 

When she looked over to him, he could read the hurt in her face even though she still smiled. When they all piled into the van he sat next to her, close like always. 

“Hey,” Jake nudged Cassandra and she looked at him, “I’m glad they were able to remove your tumor.”

She bowed her head and smiled a little, but didn’t say anything else.

~~~~

A part of Cassandra expected Jake to stop going on missions with her after her tumor was removed, the part of her that believed he came with her because he thought she was too fragile to go on missions by herself. She knew she wasn’t fragile, but she was so used to people thinking that of her when they learned about her tumor that she expected people to respond to her that way.

Jake had acted that way around her at first, but he had changed quickly enough. He was there to catch her if her hallucinations were too much, but beyond that he trusted that she was tougher than she looked. Knowing that, Cassandra knew that wasn’t why he went on missions with her and she was glad for that. 

Cassandra liked working with Jake and she was glad that he hadn’t stopped working with her when her tumor had been removed. His talent complimented hers well and he still had a way of getting through to her and understanding her. Even without the tumor she still got distracted by other memories when she did math. It helped having him around.

She was glad to have him as a friend, but she was frustrated. He tried not to act any different around her, but he was distant with her when they weren’t on missions.

Several months and a handful of missions later she confronted him about it. She found him researching in the Annex. Even with the Library back, they still preferred the Annex. It was more familiar and comfortable. 

“What the hell, Jake?” Cassandra said, and that really wasn’t what she’d meant to say, but it had taken a lot for her to screw up her courage to talk to him, so she couldn’t be blamed for her mouth getting ahead of her brain.

Jake gave her a blank look so she barreled on. “Something’s off. I don’t know. We still work together, but before, I thought we were getting closer, things were easier between us, and now it’s not.”

“Nothing’s changed,” he tried. 

Cassandra gave him an incredulous look so he tried again. “I told ya, Cassie. I like ya. I do.”

“But you don’t trust me,” Cassandra finished, her entire demeanor resigned.

“Yes. No!” he corrected quickly. “Yeah, that was true, but it hasn’t been for a while.”

“Really?” Cassandra asked with a hopeful smile. 

“Yeah, Cassie. Really. You’ve saved my neck enough times.” He couldn’t quite hide his exasperation. It wasn’t just that she’d saved his neck, but he had, more than once, willingly put his life in her hands.

“So, why do you seem distant?” 

“Because, Cassie, I like ya and that scares me,” and maybe that was a little harsher than he intended but she was still there.

“You think it doesn’t scare me, too?” Cassandra pushed. “I’m math girl and at fifteen I was handed a death sentence. I pretty much resigned myself to a short, lonely life. Then I learned about the Library, and I met you. I lose things, Jake, but you’re still here and I don’t know what this is between us.”

“Maybe we should find out,” Jake offered.

“I’d like that.”

Cassandra grabbed a book and plopped down on the couch where Jake had been sitting. He gave her a bemused look before sitting down and pulling her close to him. She smiled happily and settled down to read. 

~~~~

At first, nothing much changed between them, except he didn’t pull away like he used to. He actively sought her out, sat with her as they both did research, always learning, preparing for the next mission. They were both happy to let things be, knowing what was building between them. It was after a particularly harrowing mission, both falling through the door, happy to have made it out alive, that he pulled her to him, kissing her. She dropped her tools and wrapped her arms around her neck and responded eagerly. 

He pulled away and pressed his head against hers. “I like what we have between us.”

“Me, too,” she murmured.

**Author's Note:**

> According to my limited research, a völva is a Norse witch or wise woman. It is said that they had significant rank in Norse society. It became less acceptable to be an independent woman of power and it became more common for them to practice in groups.


End file.
